How to Type Russian Characters

PCs and Macs enable you to type your documents in different languages. A few steps are necessary to set up your Windows or Mac programs to the preferred language; however, they are fairly simple and easy to follow. You can also set up your keyboard with a template that shows you which keys to select for the letters you want.

Method 1
Method 1 of 7:

Activate Cyrillic Support on a Mac

  1. 1
    Go to System Preferences. Click View, then "Language & Text" and the "Input Sources" tab.
  2. 2
    Find "Russian" and choose one (only one) of the available Russian keyboard layouts. For example, "Russian" which is a standard Russian layout for Mac.
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  3. 3
    Switch to Russian typing using ⌘ Cmd+Space.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 7:

Activate Cyrillic Support in Windows 7 and Vista

  1. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 4
    1
    Click on the Start button and go to the Control Panel. Click on the "Clock, Language, Region" option.
  2. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 5
    2
    Double-click "Regional and Language Options."
  3. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 6
    3
    Find a tab called "Keyboard and Languages"
  4. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 7
    4
    Click "Change Keyboard". Then select "Add".
  5. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 8
    5
    Find "Russian" (language) in the list and then click on its '+' sign to see available layouts. Click on "Russian" in that list of layouts to add it.
  6. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 9
    6
    Click on "Apply" below right. Then Windows activates Russian keyboard layout file.
  7. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 10
    7
    Click "OK" again. You can now use the buttons Alt+⇧ Shift to switch between Russian ("RU") and English ("EN").
    • Now you have standard Russian keyboard layout active and can use it for typing in Russian. Or you can install Phonetic (homophonic) layout when F-Russian F,A-A, O-O,....
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Method 3
Method 3 of 7:

Activate Cyrillic Support with ER Bukinist KOI8 font (Mac)

  1. 1
    Download the ER Bukinist KOI8 font.[1]
  2. 2
    Download the ER Kurier KOI8-R for keyboard layout.
  3. 3
    Click on "Start."
  4. 4
    Quit all programs.
  5. 5
    Place the files in "System Folder."
  6. 6
    Select "Help Center" from the Help menu.
  7. 7
    Click on "Settings."[2]
  8. 8
    Type "keyboards" to search.
  9. 9
    Click on "Using different languages."
  10. 10
    Click on "Open...Control Panel...."
  11. 11
    Click on "Control Panel."
  12. 12
    Check the box at "Russian KOI8-R."[3]
  13. 13
    Select the keyboard layout by clicking on "Russian-KOI8 keyboard."
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Method 4
Method 4 of 7:

Activate Cyrillic Support in Windows 2000

  1. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 24
    1
    Click on "Start."[4]
  2. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 25
    2
    Click on "Settings."
  3. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 26
    3
    Click on "Control Panel."
  4. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 27
    4
    Click twice on "Regional Options."
  5. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 28
    5
    Click on "Cyrillic" to activate it.[5]
  6. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 29
    6
    Click on "Apply."
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Method 5
Method 5 of 7:

Activate the Windows Keyboard

  1. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 30
    1
    Click on "Start."[6]
  2. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 31
    2
    Click on "Settings."
  3. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 32
    3
    Click on "Control Panel."
  4. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 33
    4
    Click twice on icon for "Keyboard" to get to the properties for the keyboard.
  5. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 34
    5
    Select the "Input Locales" tab across the top of the box.
  6. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 35
    6
    Select the "Add" button to get to the "Add Input Language" screen.
  7. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 36
    7
    Select "Input Language" and find and select "Russian" from the list.
  8. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 37
    8
    Leave the "EN English" keyboard as the default.[7]
  9. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 38
    9
    Put a check in the "Enable indicator on task bar," bottom of screen.
  10. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 39
    10
    Click between English and Russian by selecting either on the task bar at the bottom of your screen to the right.
  11. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 40
    11
    Select "Apply" to ensure that all changes have been accepted and saved.
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Method 6
Method 6 of 7:

Activate Cyrillic Support in Windows XP

  1. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 41
    1
    Click on "Start."Activate Cyrillic Support in Windows XP[8]
  2. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 42
    2
    Click on "Control Panel."
  3. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 43
    3
    Click twice on "Regional and Language Options."
  4. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 44
    4
    Select "Details" in the "Text services" box.
  5. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 45
    5
    Select "Add" in "Installed services."
  6. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 46
    6
    Select "Russian" from the drop-down list of languages.
  7. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 47
    7
    Click "OK."
  8. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 48
    8
    Click "Apply"; you will see "RU Russian" in the window.
  9. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 49
    9
    Select "Preferences" and click the "Language Bar."[9]
  10. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 50
    10
    Select both "Show language..." and "Show additional language..." icons.
  11. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 51
    11
    Click "OK."
  12. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 52
    12
    Select "Key Settings" for the option of switching between languages.
  13. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 53
    13
    Click on "Switch to English."
  14. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 54
    14
    Select "Change Key Sequence."
  15. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 55
    15
    Choose either CTRL or ALT and a numbered key.
  16. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 56
    16
    Click "OK."
  17. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 57
    17
    Select "Switch to Russian."
  18. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 58
    18
    Choose "Change Key Sequence."[10]
  19. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 59
    19
    Choose either CTRL or ALT and a numbered key to be used to switch to Russian.
  20. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 60
    20
    Click "OK" twice.
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Method 7
Method 7 of 7:

Installing the "Keyboard Layout" for Both Windows 2000 and XP.

  1. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 61
    1
    Click on KBDRUPH.Zip to download the layout.
  2. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 62
    2
    Unzip the file and designate a folder where the files will be placed.
  3. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 63
    3
    Open the folder where the files were placed.[11]
  4. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 64
    4
    Copy KBDRUPH.DLL for Windows 2000 into the WINNT folder in System32.
  5. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 65
    5
    Copy the file into the Windows folder in System32 for Windows XP.
  6. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 66
    6
    Open System32 and click on KBDRUPH.REG.[12]
  7. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 67
    7
    Restart your computer.
  8. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 68
    8
    Click on "Start."
  9. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 69
    9
    Click on "Programs."
  10. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 70
    10
    Click on "Accessories."
  11. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 71
    11
    Click on "Accessibility."
  12. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 72
    12
    Click on "On-Screen Keyboard."
  13. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 73
    13
    Click on "Settings" and select a font.
  14. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 74
    14
    Select "Cyrillic" under "Script."
  15. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 75
    15
    Click "OK."
  16. Image titled Type Russian Characters Step 76
    16
    Select "RU Russian" at the bottom on your screen.
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Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Windows or Mac operating system
  • Internet access

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.uky.edu/~jrouhie/russify.html#webmac
  2. ↑ http://www.uky.edu/~jrouhie/russify.html#webmac
  3. ↑ http://www.uky.edu/~jrouhie/russify.html#webmac
  4. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  5. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  6. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  7. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  8. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  9. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  1. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  2. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html
  3. ↑ http://webhome.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 9 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 80,413 times.
26 votes - 41%
Co-authors: 9
Updated: December 11, 2022
Views: 80,413
Categories: Russian
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